GMap from FSWidgets - FREE

FSWidgets has a great little Google Moving Map program called GMap. This isn't the only software they have, they have an Electronic Flight Bag that includes the Moving Map that can also display charts, PDF Plates, Manuals, Checklists and Online Weather. They sell this program, but the cost is very reasonable. They have Widgets for Flight Simulator and X-Plane as well.

GMap is for FSX only (sorry FS9 flyers). It also supports charts which you create yourself using their updated Free Calibration Utility or purchase them if you are lazy like I am. If you are already using GMap and would like to try creating charts, you might want to download the newest version, that has the New Calibration Utility included.

One cool little feature is that you can choose how to view your GMap...it can look like a iPhone or a Garmin GPS an EFB or just in a Browser.

Check it out....I am sure you will like it....I do.

www.fswidgets.com

So what the heck is a Belarc Advisor?

Yep...another FREE computer Utility.

Here is what Belarc says about the Belarc Advisor:

The Belarc Advisor builds a detailed profile of your installed software and hardware, missing Microsoft hotfixes, anti-virus status, CIS (Center for Internet Security) benchmarks, and displays the results in your Web browser. All of your PC profile information is kept private on your PC and is not sent to any web server.

It really is a cool little program and it will tell you more than you ever imagined about your computer...and it's FREE.

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

Destination Finder - FREE

Have you ever wanted to take a flight but wasn't sure where you wanted to go? Well this little program will let you pick a departure airport and how many miles you want to fly and will pick all the airports around you at that distance. Or you can just let it randomly pick an airport for you. It is really nice and FREE.

This program is located at http://www.flightsim.com The name of the file is "destfn20.zip" Be sure to read the Readme file because this program can do a lot of things to help you in finding a flight.

There is an older version of this program that includes a search for Water runways, that the new version does not include. It only works with FS9 data but if you are interested in it also you can find it at http://www.avsim.com and the file is called "destination_finder_for_fs9_v1.1.zip" You can run both on your computer at the same time....V 2.0 is not an upgrade for V 1.1.

This is a really handy little program....hope you enjoy it....I certainly do.

Flightsim Aviation Zone - Lots of Resources

Flightsim Aviation Zone is a nice collection of information for flyers.

They have some good training information in their Aviation Theory section. I like their Aviation Rules of Thumb section......cool.

Take a look.....you might find something I missed.

http://www.flightsimaviation.com/

Uninstaller...It's FREE

Have you ever a program you wanted to remove and the normal uninstall methods just wouldn't get it completely removed?

Well I tried this one out and it really like it....especially since it is FREE.

Thanks to David Congram in my Flying Club for this tip.

http://www.revouninstaller.com/

I could be wrong......but

I was just thinking this morning.....who is the best maker of Freeware Aircraft for FS9 or FSX?

The first planes I thought of was Premier Aircraft Design.

I have flown some of their planes for a quite a while now and I always enjoy checking out a new plane of theirs when they come out with one.

The Turbo Beaver is always a great one to take Bush flying. The Beech 1900 is a great little over all plane to take when you want to get there a little faster. Their new Dassault Falcon 7X is a really nice Jet to fly.

So you want to add some new FREE planes to your collection.....this is the first place I would go.

fsBreak Flight Sim Podcasts

Yes...there is a Flight Sim Podcast out there and a good one too.



Check it out.

I am glad to see someone going to the work of putting together a podcast dedicated to Flight Simming.

Virtual International Flying Club

The Virtual International Flying Club has a new promotional video for the club....check it out.



Well done guys.

NetWorx - Free program for monitoring bandwidth usage

Have you ever wondered how much bandwidth you were using....like if you are running Skype and have several people you are talking to and downloading a file at the same time? Well I did, so I started searching around and found NetWorx This is a great little FREE program that helps you evaluate your bandwidth usage and you can watch it on a graph:



You can also see what your usage is on an hourly basis...or daily or monthly.

Giveaway of the day.com - FREE Software

Yep....believe it....FREE Software.

giveawayoftheday.com

They giveaway a new piece of software each day...for FREE.

The catch is you have to activate the software that day, if you wait till the next day...you are out of luck.

Ever wonder what the Stall speed is for your plane, but can't find it?

There have been many times I have wondered what the stall speed is for a plane I am flying is...and there is nothing in the Kneeboard.

Well in FSX open the Aircraft.cfg file for the plane in question and scroll down to the [Reference Speeds] and there they are.

Don't like your Default Minipanel in FSX?

Well here is how you can change it.

Go to your Microsoft Flight Simulator X\Gauges folder and look for your Minipanel.cfg file.

First MAKE A COPY OF THE FILE.

Then, at least in my file, insert your new Minipanel like this. This is a transparent minipanel I like for single engine planes.

[MiniPanel00]
Background_color=0,0,0
size_mm=550,63
window_size_ratio=1.000
position=7
visible=1
ident=MINIPANEL
no_luminous=1
window_size= 0.790, 0.160
window_pos= 0.125, 0.845
child_3d=1
alpha_blend=0.50
gauge00=KingAir!Vsi, 198,13,50,50
gauge01=KingAir!Airspeed, 2,12,54,51
gauge02=bendix_king_radio!Bendix-King Radio AP, 429,35,120,29
gauge03=KingAir!Hsi, 67,9,66,53
gauge04=KingAir!Altimeter, 139,13,50,50
gauge05=Kingair!Flaps, 344,32,15,30
gauge06=SimIcons!Map Icon, 433,26,8,8
gauge07=SimIcons!Avionics Icon, 443,26,8,8
gauge08=SimIcons!GPS Icon, 452,26,8,8
gauge09=737-400!Gear Lever, 375,28,28,34
gauge10=KingAir!Attitude, 259,15,58,48

Destination Finder

Still having a hard time finding a place to fly??

Destination Finder is the best little FREE program I have found. You can plug in an airport ICAO and tell it you want to fly 150 miles and it will go out and find all the airports within that radius.

There is a version 1.1 for FS9 that can find water airports or version 2.0 is for FS9 and FSX but does not find water landing airports.

Version 2.0 is at http://www.flightsim.com The name of the file is destfn20.zip Be sure to read the Readme file because this program can do a lot of things to help you in finding a flight and don't forget to thank Martin Gleeson at masala@blueyonder.co.uk for writing this great little program.

Version 1.1 is at http://www.avsim.com and the file is called destination_finder_for_fs9_v1.1.zip You can run both on your computer at the same time....V 2.0 is not an upgrade for V 1.1.

Protect your Computer

Well I got a Trojan attack the other day while looking for animated gif's for a forum I belong to.

I was lucky that I had Winpatrol running and it stopped the Trojan from completely taking over my PC.

I got the Trojan removed with Malwarebytes. Great little program...also FREE.

Flight Sim Bloggers Network

Great place to find anything new in Flight Sim.

Flight Sim Bloggers Network

Looking for somewhere to fly? fourflights.com

Saw this in last months Computer Pilot Mag.

www.fourflights.com

Looking for somewhere to fly to but can't come up with anywhere?

This site creates a new VFR, MFR(Marginal Flight Rules), LFR (Low Instrument Flight Rules) and IFR once every hour based on the weather rules you pick.

I thought this sounded very cool since I can never think of anywhere to fly.

Vista Tweaks

This is a great site if you feel up to tweaking Vista....if you have the stomach for it?

Thanks Jim.....for this one.

www.blackviper.com

FSWidgets....Very cool little navigation tools.

Danny with VIFC told me about this one.

Very nice tools for navigation assistance.

www.fswidgets.com

WW2, Pacific War

WW2, Pacific War

"It's Your Plane", Voice Controller for FS9, FSX

It's Your Plane is a really cool program....especially if you are lazy like me.



Flight Simulator Voice Controller for FS9, FSX

They call it a Virtual Co-Pilot and they are right. I wasn't expecting much when I downloaded the Demo, they give you 15 days to try it, but I was pleasantly surprised.

It does take a few flights for the system to recognize your voice to the point where it will quit just sitting there when you talk to Michelle and she does nothing. You have three Microsoft Voice options....of course I chose the female voice.

I will post a more in depth review of this later. I just wanted to let you know about it now so you could go and download the demo and check it out.

Oh yea....make sure you have a decent microphone on your headset.